A new lidar project reveals how mining and urban expansion have put one of Mexico’s most iconic cultural heritage sites at risk.
soils
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Modeling Mulch to Understand Agricultural Soil
A new model helps shed light on residue mulch, an important regulator of surface soil conditions.
Posted inNews
Wildfires May Alter the Nitrogen Cycle—and Air Pollution
Research indicates that wildfires could be bolstering soil emissions of air pollutants that contribute to smog and climate change.
Posted inNews
Settlement of Rapa Nui May Have Been Doomed by a Dearth of Dust
Rapa Nui and Hawai‘i offer a tale of two island settlements: Hawai‘i was close enough to Asia for continental dust to help replenish soil nutrients depleted by agriculture. Rapa Nui wasn’t.
Posted inNews
Community Input Drives Superfund Research
Researchers identified geochemical tracers for lead and investigated Oklahomans’ concerns at the Tar Creek Superfund site.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Plant Root Exudates Mediate Soil Nutrient Transport
Plant roots mediate solute transport through the soil immediately surrounding them by introducing polymers and other binding compounds that disrupt water transport pathways between soil pore spaces.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Not So Hot Under the Collar
Thermal properties of Martian soil as measured by the InSight lander.
Posted inNews
Predictive Forensics Helps Determine Where Soil Samples Came From
Researchers deploy geochemical analyses to narrow down the search area for a soil sample’s site of origin—an approach that could prove useful to law enforcement.
Posted inNews
Desert Life Conjures Organic Carbon from Thin Air
Without water, photosynthesis shuts down. To survive dry spells, desert microbes scavenge traces of hydrogen from the air and burn it for energy. Some even use hydrogen to fuel carbon fixation.
Posted inNews
Soil Saturation Dictates Africa’s Flood Severity
The most complete hydrological data set for the African continent reveals a surprise: Soil moisture, not heavy precipitation, best explains the timing of Africa’s most severe floods.